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Ten prime suspects in the abduction of the Barry Bonds’ home run marker at AT&T Park

Glue is seen on the brick facade in right center field (to the left of the Comcast sign) where a plaque commemorating Barry Bonds’ 756 home run was affixed seen during the Arizona Diamondbacks vs. San Francisco Giants baseball game Tuesday, April 23, 2013, in San Francisco. The plaque has been missing for about a week. (AP Photo/Ben Margot)

The shield honoring Barry Bonds’ 756th career home run that broke Hank Aaron’s record has gone missing.

Last weekend, the San Francisco Chronicle’s Scott Ostler wrote about the missing shield, which resided on the right-center field wall at AT&T Park to mark the spot where Bonds’ home run ball landed. All that is left is some adhesive residue where the shield used to be.

The Giants say they didn’t take the shield down, and don’t know who did or what they did with it. The team is working on getting the shield replaced.

Well, MoreSplashHits believes justice should be sought and the perpetrators pursued in this crime against Giant Nation. And we’ve assembled this list of some prime suspects.

No. 10 Jeff Kent

We all know Kent and Bonds were not the best of friends. And we know Kent can’t be trusted (He once told the Giants he broke his hand while washing his truck when he really did it in a spill on a dirt bike). He has questionable character (he signed to play with the Dodgers). AND he was at AT&T Park during the first homestand. Hmmmmm.

9. John Smoltz

Bonds’ didn’t have a lot fans around baseball, least of all among pitchers. There’s the story of Bonds walking into the clubhouse and pointing out pitchers who he had hit home runs off of. Well, no pitcher surrendered more of Bonds’ 765 career homers than John Smoltz. Actually, Bonds hit nine home runs off Smoltz and Greg Maddux, but Bonds had 39 fewer at-bats against Smoltz. That makes him a prime candidate.

8. Swiper

That sneaky fox is always trying to swipe our stuff.

7. Greg Anderson

Anderson was Bonds’ boyhood friend and personal trainer. He refused to testify against Bonds during his perjury trial. Maybe the shield was part of the deal to keep Anderson quiet. Or maybe Anderson thought he deserved more. And we all know he’s willing to do the time in jail.

6. Matthew Parrella and Jeffrey Nedrow

Parrella and Nedrow were the U.S. attorneys who prosecuted Bonds’ perjury case after a four-year (FOUR YEARS!!!) investigation into whether a witness lied to a grand jury in a case in which the defendents were eventually found guilty. The perjury investigation lasted longer than the BALCO investigation. The case resulted in one guilty verdict out of four, and that was for obstruction of justice. That verdict is currently under appeal. That shield was a constant reminder of how this witch hunt failed. Maybe the government should spend four years investigating these guys and their predecessors.

5. AT&T Park Seagulls

We wouldn’t put anything past these ballpark scavengers.

4. Barry Bonds

Why not Barry? Perhaps he thought it would the shield would look nice over his fireplace. Bonds could be thinking “I hit the homer; the shield is mine.” Plus his personal service contract with the team is about to expire, so maybe he thought it was time to swoop in. And he is a convicted felon …. at least, for now.

3. Mike Bacsik

Bacsik’s name has gone down in infamy as the pitcher who surrendered Bonds’ 756th home run. Of course, if you asked your average fan “Who was the pitcher who gave up Bonds’ 756th home run?” They would struggle to come up with answer. Maybe that’s because Bacsik did not have a distinguished career. Or maybe it’s because Bonds’ record-breaker is not as celebrated as Hank Aaron’s 715th homer. So to keep from becoming the next Al Downing, Bacsik lifted the shield in an effort to send the moment more into obscurity.

2. Bud Selig

Back in 2007, the commissioner started to follow Bonds around as he approached Aaron’s record. And who can forget on the night Bonds tied Aaron’s mark at Petco Park the image of Selig standing with his hands in his pockets while the rest of the stadium cheered Bonds’ accomplishment. What a weenie. Selig is a friend of Aaron’s, having signed the slugger and bringing him back to Milwaukee late in his career. Also, Selig always consider Bonds the poster boy of his failings as commissioner to get PED testing done earlier and put an end to the steroids era. Bonds’ playing days are over, but maybe that shield serves as another reminder to Selig. Plus, he’s a weenie.

1. Torii Hunter

Oh, so we’re looking for someone who took something that rightfully belonged to Bonds. Who else are you going to consider than Hunter? Need evidence, we offer you this image from the 2002 All-Star Game.

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